Do you try out foreign makeup brands (ones not available in your country)?

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Do you try out foreign makeup brands (ones not available in your country)? Any favorites you’ve come across?

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I don’t… or very rarely do. It’s just I like to see and touch things before I buy them, so going through the trouble of getting something here, let alone something I haven’t seen before… is not my thing!

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67 thoughts on “Do you try out foreign makeup brands (ones not available in your country)?”

I don’t because usually shipping prices are horrid, and I imagine I would have a very difficult time returning things. Even if I like something in store, if I find after 30 days I’m not so fond of it as I thought I would be, I generally return it.

Lol – all the time! I don’t know … I just seem to really like things that are hard to get.
I used to go to Paris for M.A.C. and Benefit, but no that both brands are available (in my own city!) I shop less XD

Yes! So far not many but my HG mascara is the Kiss Me Heroine Long & Curl which is a Japanese drugstore mascara. Though… it is available at my local Marukai Market. I have one P&J blush. I also have an Asia exclusive Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited and a blush which I believe was an Asia exclusive from a few years ago. I adore both. I’d love to be able to try more Asian brands in general, especially Lunasol, Jill Stuart, and Paul & Joe (which is so limited in availability in the US it might as well be Asia only).

YES! every time i travel out of my country i try to get as much foreign stuff as i can. i mean usually i am good about getting things i like, but if i don’t like (ie the quality sucks) i give it to my little cousins as play makeup.

I do. we have much famous brands in Switzerland, like Mac, Lancome, Guerlain and so on. But we don’t have brands like illamasqua, urban decay.
furthermore the prices in switzerland are very expensive. despite the high shipping costs, i pay less if i order stuff from us.
unfortunately, only benefits ships to switzerland. i do not know any other store which ships brands like Mac, Urban Decay or Nars.

yea, im guilty of buying asian cosmetics for the extremely cute packaging (etude house, missha, VOV, thefaceshop, lavshuca) and for most of the products i’ve tried, the pigmentation and last-ability has been really great. you’ll have a very hard time finding a matte eyeshadow though, shimmer is THE THING in asia. i think the mascaras are waaaaayyyy better in asia, all the formulas are near-waterproof and can actually hold a curl, and once again…..SUPER CUTE PACKAGING!!!

[i dont purchase online/overseas, i just binge when im actually in the country]

Yes I do, because I kind of have to. I live in a small town and MAC is avalible in a total number of 3 counters across the country. The closest to me is approxmently 200km and some pricey traintickets. Same thing with the bigger brands like and if you’re out of luck they’re only avalible in Stockholm if even that, wich is 420km away and even more expensive tickets.

So even if the shipping and such gets expensive it probably is cheaper for me in the end of the day to get it all shipped right to my door. And if I don’t like what’s on my doorstep I can always sell it on ebay.

Here in Italy we don’t have many brands like NARS, NYX, UD and so on, so I usually shop online and I never had problems with it. When I go abroad I always buy foreign stuffs just to try them, I’m a makeup curious junkie

I don’t like to buy without testing either, but I’m in love with the formula of Helena Rubinstein lipsticks, which I load up on whenever I go to Shanghai, which is usually 2 or 3 times a year. I’d love to try Le Metier de Beaute, Edward Bess, and Kanebo Sensai products, but they’re not available in either Australia or China, and the shipping prices of the US department stores make me cringe.

Well technically I almost use foreign brands only since I have to go abroad (France) to have access to UD, Bobby Brown, Laura Mercier, Benefit, Nars and all that jazz. So that’s a lot of driving or online shopping for me!

I used not to, but since I started to read a lot of American blogs like yours and Pursebuzz and Karla Sugar’s, etc., I see lovely things that I really want and buy them. Also Musings of a Muse has a lot of Asian brands reviewed, so I have bought some extremely pretty Laneige palettes/powders even though I never use them. I also try to find Asia exclusive products like Guerlain Meteorites and Dior eyeshadows, both on eBay and MUA. Shipping’s not too bad usually, but you have to careful with customs, so I always ask sellers to mark their packages as gift otherwise I get stung badly for customs duty.

I seem to fall in love while on vacation and then cannot get them here in Canada. I often get my mother to grab for me some o f the stuff I cannot get here when she is in the states. I don’t know what I am going to do now that max factor is gone from the usa too

Yes, Gransenbon, a Japanese brand of blush is to me one of the best blush in the market, Empro, an triangular eyebrow pen from Korea and Fasio, a Japanese brand of mascara works wonders on short lashes. =)

In Quebec we have really rigorous language laws that apply to labeling (among other things). This means that A LOT of brands have been glacial about coming here, because they don’t want to incur the expense of changing over their packaging (ie: Urban Decay). When I travel out-of-province I often beeline straight for shops that carry the brands I’ve heard about, but don’t have access to.

However, oftentimes I’ll just take a chance and order things sight-unseen. I have no patience! Most of the time that’s paid off.

And now with the interwebs I”m even more tempted by brands that are really outside of my experience, like the japanese and korean brands.

Definitely! We have mainly high end French cosmetics available here. No NARS, Stila, Urban Decay, or Illamasqua. MUFE is sold in one place in my town, but it has a very limited and expensive selection. MAC is now available (we have a new-ish counter), but I still oder from US. Even though with the stronger USD now, it is cheaper to order from US if you don’t pay rip-off prices. You know that f.ex. a MAC lipstick costs here about 25 USD and a MAC eyeshadow about 21 USD.
If only Sephora sold outside France, there would be no problems. But I guess that’d be too much to ask. Ça ne me plaît pas, pas du tout!

Hehe, thanks to You, i do!
Unfortunately, a lot of cosmetics aren’t available here (Urban Decay, Benefit, Stila, Illamasqua, NYX, Prescriptives…) So whenever I get a chance to try these, it doesn’t even feel that foreign to me.

Yes! At every opportunity when I’m on holiday overseas. I’ve just returned from Singapore and stocked up on Make Up Store, Make Up Forever and Shu Uemura. I missed the Urban Decay launch by 2 days so was bummed but on my next trip…

I do try and buy cosmetics that are rarely found in my area. I’m fortunate that I’m able to travel and try cosmetics overseas. I usually stick to tried-and-true brands (at least for me) and try out their new releases. Sometimes I ask my friends who travel to purchase cosmetics for me. But before I make a purchase, or ask a friend to purchase for me, I read reviews extensively. That’s also one of the reasons I learned Japanese, because most of the cosmetics I love are Japanese brands.

I just ordered some stuff form Ellis Faas at the suggestion of Lisa Eldrige on Youtube. It’s a brand from Amsterdam and packaging is crazy cool and convenient. i’ll let you know how I like it when the stuff arrives.

In the past when many brands weren’t readily available, I used to have to order them online or wait for a road trip to the USA. Now I can find almost everything here that I’m interested in, so I try to shop less

All the time. Lakme and kajals when I go to India. Missha is from Korea but they sell it at my local mall. Lately, I’ve been ebaying to get a hold of bb creams. I’ve tried a few no luck yet. But I’m hopeful. And anything foreign that looks interesting.

Opsss!, This question is interesting, I’m starting a week ago with the purchase of the famous Alice Palette Urban Decay, and honestly, I decided to buy it for this month on my birthday and I wanted to spoil a bit, but will out in 5 times its value in dollars. = (
I tried with mac brushes and shadows, but are an assault on my pocket, as you know are very expensive, and because tax rates withthe here I have to work a full week for only 5 shadows, I’m definitely poor, = (, I would not eat and to afford …

Ugh, one of the WORST things about living in New Zealand is that we can’t get all of the brands available in the US and the UK. And, of what we can get, everything is VERY expensive! For example, Maybelline mascara is approx $25-30 NZ, which is about $17-20 US.
We can’t get Urban Decay, Too Faced, Nars, Illamasqua etc, so buying online (if they will ship to NZ!) is a good option. Therefore, I really rely on beauty blogs and user reviews when it comes to buying makeup – so thanks Christine

I have no choice as I am housebound and when I do get out my local shopping centre has nothing I am interested in. We have very little choice in the UK so I love to see what I want on youtube and either buy it direct from the company or search it out on ebay

Interesting that you posted this today, as I was searching on the ‘net where I might purchase Ellis Faas cosmetics. Sadly, just like Edward Bess, Bergdorf’s in NYC is the only place to buy in the US (and instore only, not available on the website). Ellis Faas (who makes beautiful, beautiful lipsticks and eyeshadows) proucts are available on their own website, but the idea of trying to buy and/or return internationally is too daunting for me.

I live in Canada, so sometimes. I do have a Sephora close by, so I can get a lot of things there. Once in a while I order online though! Speaking of foreign, Christine you should try Lise Watier (a Canadian high-end brand), their line is super nice!

I’m from the UK and we get all the amazing brands here anyway hehe (the usual; MAC, couture brands and other brilliant brands)

But one I havent seen yet us Make Up For Ever – I went Paris in the summer and decided to check it out after great reviews from temptalia… It’s a pretty amazing brand but then £=euro so I didn’t actuallly buy anything.

Another really good brand not available here is Lakme from India… This brand is suited to me because it caters for Indian skin so it appeals more to me as their foundation colours are more likely to match. Other than that they have a good variety of shades for lipglosses and lipsticks which tbh for me if of far better quality than what i can get here for the same price from maybelline, loreal etc.

Well living in Burbank, I even have my very own MUD store down the street, so generally I don’t travel too far for cosmetics. From time to time I do lust after swatches and reviews and such, but I can never bring myself to order things I haven’t tried either.

When I went to England, I bought about 10 Barry M dazzle dusts! I love them! They are similar to Mac pigments but can be found at Boots drug stores; I think they were only £5 each or something. I would love to get more Barry M products since they have so many fun, bright colors!

Yup! I have been getting into trying out Asian brands recently since I feel that they should be better suited for Asian skin. Two of the brands I’ve tried and liked are Majolica Majorca and Skinfood. Unfortunately, I don’t get to travel often, but I feel like there are so many brands out there, so why limit yourself?

I’m from India and live in Kuwait. Over here, we don’t get brands like Urban Decay and Sonia Kashuk. When I head home to Idia, I make sure I get the latest from Lakme. They always have lovely jewel tones. Their website is http://www.lakmeindia.com in case anyone’s interested.

i think that’s the good thing about being from the US, we have everything! otherwise it would have to be a really good item to have to wait weeks with shipping issues to get it…for the most part i am satisfied with the cosmetics at like mac or sephora or something.

I’ve bought a bunch of korean makeup and skincare products whilst in korea. Korean skincare lines are excellent! Amore Pacific has recently launched a line in the US I think. SanShim, HanYul, O Hui, are some of the high end skincare lines in korea. They use a lot of korean herbal ingredients and are excellent for sensitive/delicate skin who do not respond well to harsh chemicals. All korean skincare focuses on long lasting moisture and suppleness, and if you are searching for these outcomes specifically, I highly recommending testing them out. For those who are thrifty and love organic skincare (like the bodyshop?) Skinfood is very nice. One of the few korean cosmetic brands who list all ingredients, and all of their products have a very pleasant and natural scent. I can’t imagine anyone getting any irritation using their products.

As for makeup, shops like aritaum (amore pacific) and CLIO (made in germany), castledew, etc. have very decent makeup which in my opinion is on par with department store brands. Etude house and missha is more of a basic line…although Etude House packaging is extremely cute!!!